Moscow Announces Accomplished Trial of Atomic-Propelled Burevestnik Weapon

Moscow has trialed the reactor-driven Burevestnik cruise missile, as stated by the nation's leading commander.

"We have executed a extended flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it covered a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the limit," Senior Military Leader the general told the Russian leader in a public appearance.

The low-altitude advanced armament, first announced in recent years, has been portrayed as having a possible global reach and the ability to evade missile defences.

Foreign specialists have earlier expressed skepticism over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.

The national leader stated that a "concluding effective evaluation" of the missile had been conducted in 2023, but the claim lacked outside validation. Of over a dozen recorded evaluations, merely a pair had partial success since the mid-2010s, based on an non-proliferation organization.

Gen Gerasimov said the missile was in the atmosphere for fifteen hours during the trial on 21 October.

He explained the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were assessed and were determined to be up to specification, as per a domestic media outlet.

"Therefore, it exhibited superior performance to circumvent anti-missile and aerial protection," the media source quoted the official as saying.

The projectile's application has been the focus of heated controversy in defence and strategic sectors since it was first announced in 2018.

A previous study by a foreign defence research body concluded: "An atomic-propelled strategic weapon would give Russia a singular system with global strike capacity."

Yet, as a foreign policy research organization observed the same year, Russia faces major obstacles in making the weapon viable.

"Its induction into the state's arsenal arguably hinges not only on overcoming the substantial engineering obstacle of securing the consistent operation of the reactor drive mechanism," specialists noted.

"There have been several flawed evaluations, and a mishap resulting in several deaths."

A armed forces periodical quoted in the report claims the projectile has a range of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, allowing "the weapon to be based anywhere in Russia and still be capable to reach targets in the United States mainland."

The corresponding source also explains the projectile can travel as low as 50 to 100 metres above the surface, making it difficult for defensive networks to engage.

The projectile, designated Skyfall by a foreign security organization, is considered driven by a atomic power source, which is supposed to activate after solid fuel rocket boosters have sent it into the sky.

An investigation by a news agency the previous year identified a location 475km above the capital as the probable deployment area of the armament.

Employing orbital photographs from August 2024, an expert informed the outlet he had observed multiple firing positions in development at the location.

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